Wisconsin faculty capturing newest: Rubi Vergara named as 14-year-old pupil killed at Abundant Life

Rubi Vergara’s aunt, Stacy Remus, paid tribute to the student on Facebook.

“Friends and family… here it is. This is our beautiful Rubi Vergara, our niece who was killed in Monday’s school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison,” Remus wrote.

“We are grateful for our friends, family and Bluff View Church family for your support during this hard time. And by the way …. Jesus is Still on the Throne and God is Good. Rubi, there are very few words to express how our hearts are broken, we love you and miss you.”

The student’s funeral will take place this Saturday, according to the obituary.

The student who was killed in the school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, has been identified as Rubi Patricia Vergara.

An obituary released on Wednesday named the 14-year-old as one of the victims of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

The name of the teacher who also died has not been released.

Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to the obituary.

Investigators are working alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to track down the origin of the weapon believed to have been used by school shooter, Natalie Rupnow.

Police have said the 15-year-old shooter used a handgun to carry out the attack. Its history is now being traced by the ATF, Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes told CNN on Tuesday.

It is not yet clear who the gun belonged to or where it originated.

“We have asked our partners with the ATF to expedite what’s called an ATF trace form to try and determine the origin of that weapon, who purchased it and how it got from a manufacturer all the way to the hands of a 15-year-old girl,” he said.

“These are questions that are going to take some time to answer.”

Neighbor Suzy De Wilde said she and her husband moved in about four years ago and that she regularly saw Natalie Rupnow hanging out in the park next to their property.

“Every day, I wash my dishes and I see that house,” she said. “It’s f*****g crazy that that’s where the shooter lived… Every day, I get to look at that front door now. How do you live with these reminders everywhere?”

Justin Rohrlich has the exclusive story.

As of Tuesday morning, the only information to be officially released by police was that one was a student and one was a teacher.

Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes said authorities “don’t know” whether the pair were singled out by Rupnow, or whether they were simply caught up in the violence, adding that the shooter’s motivation may have been a “combination of factors.”

The shooting took place inside a study hall room where students of multiple grades were present.

Some of Abundant Life Christian School students who survived the attack have spoken out about the terrifying ordeal, with one little boy simply asking: “Why?”

Adler Jean-Charles, a sixth-grader at the school, was in an English lesson when gunshots rang out. The class of 11- and 12-year-olds were chaperoned to the side of the school after being told they were undergoing a lockdown drill.

“We heard them. And some people started crying,” Jean-Charles said in an interview with CNN on Monday. “And then we just waited until the police came and they escorted us out to the church.”

He added: “I was scared and [thinking], ‘Why did they do that? Why?’”

James Liddell has the full story.

Court documents show that Rupnow had a “turbulent” home life, according to the Washington Post.

Natalie Rupnow’s parents, Melissa and Jeff Rupnow, reportedly divorced and remarried multiple times. Their daughter enrolled in therapy to guide her through their custody arrangements, according to the newspaper.

The paper reported that the documents point “to an unsettled childhood for Rupnow, whose parents’ custody agreements sometimes forced her to move between their homes every two or three days.”

They reportedly divorced for the first time in 2014 and agreed to joint legal custody of their daughter. It was agreed that she would primarily live with her mother.

They remarried in 2017 and divorced for a second time in 2020. They were to divide custody of Natalie evenly, the court records reportedly show.

After they split up for the second time, they briefly remarried again. By April 2021, they were petitioning for a third divorce, the Post reports.

The Post was unable to reach Melissa Rupnow or Jeff Rupnow, who are both reported to be cooperating with police.

The teen’s father was speaking with police Monday evening, in what Barnes called a “long conversation.”

“We have no reason to believe they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said on Monday of the family.

The chief urged the public to disregard fast-moving, unverified online speculation that the shooter was transgender.

“I dont think that whatever happened today has anything to do with how she, or he, or they may have wanted to identify,” Chief Barnes said. “I wish people would kind of leave their own personal biases out of this. We have people who have yet another school shooting in Madison. That’s where my focus will be for the very near future.”